Staff and Pets

After Garrick finished grabbing all the core materials, it was time to grab the Elder wood.

"Just enough for a staff. I don't even have to reshape it, it's already perfect for the height he will get to. It will be a piece worthy of making history. It will be the best focus I have ever made!" Garrick said.

After 2 days of continuous work, it was almost complete. All he had to add was the dragon glass as the figurehead. As soon as the dragon glass was in place the staff underwent a dramatic change. It gave off a pressure that put Garrick on his face. It took him an hour and a half, but he managed to crawl out of the room and the range of effect. Looking back at the staff he noticed alot of the black dragon leather was floating around the staff and attaching to the handle.

"Beautiful." was all Garrick could say as the staff completed itself.

After it was completed he heard a low growl coming from the staff. He couldn't understand it but he knew it was dragon tongue.

"Well well. Young mister Grindelwald Black is destined for great things it would appear. I seem to recall those of Grindelwald House are the direct descendants of Merlin. The boy is going to have a busy life." Garrick said as he closed the door to the room.

...

The next day

"Welcome, young Arian. I have completed your staff, as promised. However, I am unsure if you will be able to use it." Garrick said as he led everyone to his workshop door.

"What do you mean?" Arian asked.

"How much do you know of the Grindelwald line?" Garrick asked.

"Not to much. Father said we will learn about our family houses when we start learning about magic. Which, by the way, would have been three days ago, but I was unable to aquire a wand. So Harry and I are waiting til then to start learning." Arian answered.

"Then I will not spoil much. But you have some special bloodlines in you and it shows in the staff. Since I had you interact with the materials before I started making it, it has already started to take the shape it needs to be your weapon. Staffs, like wands, are just wood with a core. That is until the wizard it chooses picks it up. At that point, the staff will evolve, if you will, into the shape it deems best for the wizard. I won't reveal anymore until the staff accepts you. If you can even get near it." Garrick said the last part in a whisper.

"What do you mean by 'if he can even get near it'?" Gellert asked.

"It has taken on some traits quite suited to your bloodline, Mr Grindelwald. Do not worry, I am already well aware that you were never guilty of the crimes you were accused of. Thank you for the peace, while it lasted anyway. Now, back on the subject of why you are here. Just open the door and step inside." Garrick said while taking a seat.

...

[Arian POV]

'This kind of stuff NEVER happened in the movies or books.' Arian thought to himself as he stepped up to the door. Opening it he noticed a kind of pressure, but it wasn't much to him. It felt similar to when he stepped through a ward, just more welcoming.

Stepping up to the staff he noticed it's design. It was beautiful but looked intimidating as well. Reaching out for it he heard a low growl as his hand got closer. But it didn't sound threatening to him, just like someone was speaking with a very deep bass voice so he couldn't understand it at first.

As soon as he finally grabbed it the magic in his body started to flow into the staff, slightly changing its shape and color. The body of the staff went from an off-white to a dark grey, almost black. The dragon glass on the head changed from a shard to an orb while the color changed from pitch black throughout to having streaks of red and gold in it while a second orb grew from the base with a five claw dragon hand holding it in place. After this was all finished, the head proceeded to change from just holding the new orb in place to a dragons head holding it in its mouth. It would be very intimidating for anyone having to face off against Arian. Arian's magic reserves were nearly half empty.

After this was all done, from a hidden compartment some goblin-forged silver and gold came flying out to merge with the staff, making it nearly indestructible. Arian's magical reserves were now at 1%. The staff, noticing this, released a massive energy pulse, thereby giving some magic back to Arian, before releasing Arian so he could catch his breath. What surprised everyone, including Arian, was the staff stayed floating in the air instead of falling to the ground.

"What does this mean Garrick?" Albus asked.

"This means it has accepted him. Hold it boy, it will aid you in you magic regeneration. Congratulations! You are the first wizard in over four hundred years that REQUIRES a staff. I expect great things from you, Mr Grindelwald Black. On a different note, I was going to give it to you for free since I was able to make a staff after so many years, but the staff decided to take all my goblin forged metals for itself." Garrick said, a bit angrily.

"I'm sorry sir. I don't know why it did that. I know that stuff isn't cheap, so I may have to take a Tripp to Gringotts for the additional funds." I said while I was holding my staff.

"No worries my boy. A wand, on average, costs seven galleons. A general staff costs fifty galleons, that's one of the other big reasons why everyone went to using wands. But yours was not only custom made, it customized itself. Before the metals it took it was already worth five hundred galleons. Now it's worth two thousand five hundred galleons." Garrick said, but not with a hint of greed. More like a hint of loss.

"Is that the true value, sir? I don't want to under pay for something so grand." I told him honestly.

"While the metals are expensive, there wasn't much of it. That was all the goblin-made metals I procured over the last decade. Nobody sells it if they can avoid it." Garrick said, nearly in tears.

"Then I will pay it, of course. Can I also buy a staff cleaning kit? Or is there no such thing anymore?" I asked, happily noticing my question brought a smile to his face.

"I'm sure I have the materials to replace the ones you've lost. Let me know the quantities and of what, and I'll have it delivered to you by weeks end." said Gellert.

"No, no. It's quite alright. I bought the metals to use in my experiments. I just wasn't expecting to use it all in one go!" Garrick said with a laugh. "As for the inquiry about a staff cleaning kit. Yes, I'll throw one together for you. The ones I had in stock have gone rotten, long ago. That will be an additional five galleons. And if you would like it, I can throw in a beginner's guide to staff lore. It's nearly useless anyway. Maybe it will help you come closer to your new partner." Garrick said.

"I'll buy all the books on the subject you are willing to part with, Mr Ollivander." I said with all the respect I could.

"Very well. Wait here while I gather all the books I have." Garrick said as he was walking away.

After thirty minutes, he returned with a black backpack that looked very ancient, but still in perfect condition. "All my books and even some family knowledge on staff lore is in this bag. Go ahead and take a look. There's also an expansion on this extra pocket here at the top. You can put your staff in here and still reach it when you need it. If the books are to your liking, the total comes to three thousand five hundred galleons. I know it sound expensive but remember, in my family more than two thousand years of making foci, well over half of that was purely staffs." Garrick said as he opened the backpack for us to see more than one thousand books, neatly arranged in a bookshelf. We all gawked at the number of books after I stored my staff and headed for the front counter. We didn't want anyone to see it while we were waiting.

"This number of lore books should be worth WELL over one thousand galleons." Amelia said.

"If it were wand lore, yes. But nobody is interested in staff lore anymore. They consider it a waste of materials." Garrick said sadly.

"Very well. Three thousand five hundred galleons, and a tip." I stated as I dropped an additional one hundred galleons on the counter.

"The tip is unnecessary, young man." Garrick said with a small smile.

"Just consider the extra as payment for the backpack. Just the expansion charms on it must cost more than this." I stated.

"Just like the books, these backpacks have lost their value. The book pocket is only able to store books, while the staff pocket can only hold staffs. If you ever start to make staffs, I will give you all my remaining stock dedicated to staff lore." Garrick said emotionally and with no small amount of expectation.

"I may end up taking you up on that offer. Have a good day, Mr. Ollivander." I said as we walked towards the door.

"And you as well, young man. I'm sure we can expect great things from you, in the future." Garrick said.

'He just had to say it, didn't he.' I thought to myself as the door closed.

"Let's go get your pets. An owl would be useful for both of you. I'd love to be able to send and receive letters directly from you if something happens while I'm at work." Amelia said.

""Okay!"" Harry and I said as we took off for the pet store with our parents laughing behind us.

As soon as we walked in I noticed many species of animals that were not allowed at Hogwarts. And a certain, very small, white owl.

"Harry, this owl seems to like you." I said as Harry came up to look at it. It never took its eyes off Harry.

"I'll take it. She can grow with me and still be in her prime before we leave Hogwarts." Harry said excitedly.

As I kept walking around I felt a pull towards the back of the store. In a box, labeled 'UNKNOWN', was a gigantic egg. It was black in color, almost identical to my staff. But what pulled me to it was some kind of connection that I couldn't place. I grabbed the attention of an associate "Excuse me? What is this egg?"

"As the box says, unknown. Everyone thought it was a dragon egg at first, but it is far too large. In addition, it was found at the auction of an old wizards estate sale after his death. We believe it is fossilized and can no longer hatch. It gives off no reaction to any magic or any other stimuli. I'm not even sure why the owner still wants to sell it, it's no longer going to be a pet. Just an oversized paper weight or centerpiece at a table to start conversations. I can just give it to you if you buy another animal." the associate said, clearly wanting it gone.

"I'll take it. Just let me find another animal." I said as I took off back towards the avians.

After looking for a few minutes I noticed another young snowy owl, but its colors were heavier, and had darker black spots. It was also a male so he might get along with Hedwig. Looking at his name tag, I noticed his name was Archimedes.

Picking up his cage, I walked back to the associate who was already preparing the egg for me "I'll buy this little guy."

"Good choice. There was a female very similar to him that we thought were siblings, but later we found out they aren't related at all. I just sold her a few minutes ago." the associate said.

"Hedwig. My brother just bought her while I was looking around." I told him.

"Good. Maybe they'll get along in the future. Your total for the owl is twenty five galleons. They're so expensive because of their rarity. Your brother and you bought the only snowy owls we've had in five years. If they manage to have any young in the future, we'll pay top dollar (not sure how to translate that to galleon) for the eggs so they don't go extinct. They're about to be put on the endangered list of magical owls and won't be able to be sold anymore. If that happens, we'll still buy the eggs from you to send to the Ministry for population regrowth." the associate said.

"Good to know. Have a good day." I said with a wave as I put my new expanded bag with my owl and egg onto my belt. Heading out the door I noticed my entire family waiting for me.

"What took so long?" my Mother asked me.

"The assistant was very talkative about the current state of snowy owls and I got a free pet." I said nonchalantly.

"Yes, these poor owls may be the last sold for many years." Mom said with a look towards Hedwig.

"Yes, tragic. What was the free pet?" my Father asked me with everyone else looking at me expectantly.

"Let's get home first. It's been a long day and I'm starving. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. The associate said they believe it's now a fossilized egg and can no longer hatch. I'd rather not handle it any more than I have to." I said as we left for home.